A Simple Cartographer Zero: Fragment Maelstrom
by Thewackness135
Summary: Mirrors. Some say that they are just windows to a parallel world. A parallel Destiny. Naruto Uzumaki's story is like a mirror, many variations, many fragments of the same mirror. Small cracks forming on the mirror with every choice made. A small, what if will change the course of history. This is the tale, of a small crack in that mirror. This is the tale, of a Fox and an Empire.


_AN: Hello once again my people! It's nice to see you all once again! I've been waiting for this little Laptop of mine to start working again, due to a power outage and the fact that I couldn't charge it._

 _It was even harder to deal with once this idea popped into my head._

 _Yes, I know. I should just stop letting the plot-bunnies run my life, and focus on my existing stories. But hey, I'm a writing madman, and no one can stop me!_

 _So as I lay in my bed, shivering due to the lack of any heating in my house during a power outage in the middle of the coldest week of the year, with the house temperature being about 27 degrees, an idea popped into my head._

 _And I thought, "Why not?"_

 _And then I had to wait for my power to come back._

 _And then wait for my laptop to come back to the land of the living._

 _And then wait for my stupid brain to remember my cold-addled thoughts._

 _Then think of plot points for after this chapter._

 _Then left this chapter half-finished in favor of schoolwork for a month._

 _And then continued writing._

 _And here we are._

 _I don't think that many of you were expecting another Naruto and Akame Ga Kill crossover, but meh. Nothing I can do about these Tales being so great and my imagination dicking with me like I was a Little Mac main in Smash._

 _Shots Fired in the Smash Community._

 _So yes, again we dive into the merging of these two worlds._

 _But with something different._

 _A small difference._

 _Something small that would change the course of this world, and keep going._

 _A small What-If?_

 _What if the Empire discovered the Elemental Nations first, instead of it being the other way around?_

 _Oh yes, shits about to go down._

 _A story parallel to another, where this tiny difference, changes the fate of one Naruto Uzumaki, and the people he will know in this new world._

 _Sounds fun right?_

 _I doubt that many of you give a shit about why this story was born, and are just screaming, "Start the damn story!"_

 _Well damn, I give up! Stop yelling at me._

 _Let's just get to the start of the story, eh?_

 _Fonts:_

Regular text- speech, etc.

 **Bold: Important, jutsu, loud yelling, and Beings of power**

 _Italics: Thoughts._

Underlined: Serious.

 **Bold Underlined: Kurama and other beasts.**

 **DISCLAIMER: Thewackness135 does not own either Naruto, or Akame Ga Kill; if, by some sort of trickery and huge amounts of luck, I manage to obtain the rights to these great franchises, I would then use my now massive fortune to send $20 to every person who has been supportive of my stories… But since that isn't happening anytime soon, I'm afraid we'll all be about $20 dollars poorer… Damnit.**

 _Summary: Mirrors. Some say that they are just windows to a parallel world. A parallel Destiny. Naruto Uzumaki's story is also like a mirror, many variations, many fragments of the same mirror, with small changes. Small cracks forming on the mirror with every choice made. A small, what if will change the course of history. This is the tale, of a small what if. This is the Tale of a crack in the Mirror. This is the Tale of Uzumaki Naruto, and one of his Fragmented Destinies._

 **A Simple Cartographer Zero: Fragment Maelstrom.**

 **CH.1: A Knucklehead's Smile.**

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3 whole months.

3 whole months since the expedition had begun.

3 whole months that she had been waiting on the boat, waiting for a notification that land was near.

She had been sent on this expedition due to a recent discovery made by the crew of a Naval ship that had been sunk in a storm, but were saved by the local fishermen of a village that had been near the coast that the sailor's had been washed up on.

Of course, not all of the sailors had made it out of the storm alive. Many of the bodies that had been recovered from the ocean were those of the departed, dead from the water that had found its way into their lungs instead of air.

But a few had survived, much to their rescuers' relief, and had reported back to the Empire once they had recovered, using a ship that the locals had provided for them.

Seems that they were a trusting people, kind even.

The reports sent back were rather plain, giving descriptions of the type of environment that the village was surrounded by. The kinds of local produce that were available. Even the fact that it was predominantly a fishing village was not missed.

No, the thing that had caught the Empire's attention was one word mentioned in the report, a word that the townspeople had uttered with reverence.

Shinobi.

A grin spread across her face.

When questioned as to what Shinobi were, the townspeople had told them that Shinobi were talented warriors, but other than that, the details were obscure, and the Sailors that had reported back in the first place didn't make things clear on this subject.

Aside from the fact that they had discovered an entirely new Continent, now there were warriors that were essentially a mystery to the Empire existed.

As such, they had decided to send one of their higher-ups for a little bit of… Diplomacy.

She was about to take a nap, if anything to pass the time, but was interrupted by the Captain of the ships shout.

"LAAAAAAAAAND HOOOOO!"

Excellent.

Now she could finally see what all the fuss was about.

Gathering her things, she began to traverse throughout the underdeck of the vessel, making her way to the flight of stairs that would lead topside, and give her a view of this new land.

Finally reaching the stairs, she easily avoided a Sailor who had barreled past her in his haste to find a bottle of the Captain's favorite mead.

She ascended the stairs, seeing patches of sunlight through the hatch with crisscross beams of wood, made so that Sailors on the boat wouldn't fall below deck, and lifted it, enjoying the warm feeling of the sun as she basked in its glow, before once again moving.

The woman stepped onto the deck of the ship, seeing the various Sailors doing their duties, while yelling their hearts out in excitement at the sight of land. A few were passing out drinks, cups filled to the brim with mead, handing it out to their crewmates as the brew slushed, almost spilling over the rim of their containers.

How crude.

"Aye, there you are Lass!"

Yes, as crude as could be.

But at least they were honest.

Turning, she faced the Captain of the ship, a member of the Imperial Navy, a well-decorated one at that, charged with carrying her across the long stretch of sea between the Empire, and this new land.

He was Captain Gorjund.

He was a burly looking man, with a wild beard that went to his lower neck, and slicked back black hair that was hidden partially by the bandanna he always seemed to wear. He was wearing the standard Captains Uniform, but what made him different was the massive grin that the man always seemed to have in place, as well as his peculiar eyes that had pupils almost in the shape of an anchor.

"So, take a look at what we've been trying so hard to reach!"  
She complied with him, turning her head to the left, a smile spreading across her features, as she saw the end-game of her long journey.

It looked rather quaint, a small village surrounded by a port, many boats surrounding the docks.

Seemed this was the place that was stated in the report.

"So here it is." She said.

Gorjund gave a laugh, "Yes, we made it after all this time!"

A shout was heard, as a Sailor barked out an order to begin docking procedures as they sailed closer and closer to the docks, the crew running around and making the necessary precautions for docking the Vessel.

Soon, the ship came to a halt, ropes being thrown to members of the crew who had jumped across and into the docks, hauling in the boat and tying it off so it wouldn't float away.

Not being one to wait, the woman jumped over the side of the deck, landing lightly on her feet and began to walk to the village in the distance.

Gorjund looked over the railing of his ship, before giving a small laugh, "A lively Lass that one is."

He cupped his mouth, before shouting after her, "We'll be waiting right here to take you back when you return!"

The woman in the distance gave no sign to confirm whether she heard him or not.

Instead, she just kept walking.

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We once again see her walking amongst the people, looking over the various stands, observing the people that were going about their daily business.

She had discovered from the local populace that she was in, what they called Nami No Kuni, a part of what was called the Elemental Nations.

She found them lacking.

Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing too exciting.

Nothing that amazing had happened so far.

And then she bumped into a child.

She looked down, seeing the boy's dark eyes looking confused as he picked his striped bucket hat off of the ground, before he looked up to see what had happened to him. He was dressed in overalls that covered a short sleeved T-shirt, his shoes muddy. His hair was as dark as his eyes.

She had expected the small boy to cry like the child he was, to start weeping like a baby, to show just how weak he was.

He opened his mouth, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

She grinned, the kid had spunk.

And then he finally took a good look at her.

Her grin increased as she watched the boy's face turn red, and soon he had steam coming out of his ears.

She looked down at him, "You're different."

He looked confused, "What do ya mean?"

She explained, "Most children would cry at this point." She elaborated.

The child looked surprised, before looking joyful, as he took a moment to remember a certain person, and what they had said to him, "Well, someone that I look up to told me something."

"What did they say?" She asked

The boy looked up, his dark eyes gleaming as he remembered, "He said that crying doesn't help anyone, and that I should man up and face my problems head-on."

The woman gave a small smile, "Sounds like a smart person."  
He gave a large grin, "Yeah, He was so cool!"

The boy pointed to himself, as he once again spoke, "My name's Inari, nice to meet you!"

She nodded, "Alright."

Looking around, she had noticed that they were on the outskirts of the town, and apparently the boy was coming back towards the village from wherever he was.

She knelt down, as she decided to get some kind of information while she could, "Where were you coming from?"

Inari gave a grin, "The Great Naruto Bridge!"

What?

She was confused, "The Great Naruto Bridge?"

Inari just once again smiled, "Yeah, C'mon! I'll take you there!"  
Without warning, Inari grabbed her hand, and lead her to a massive bridge, one with stones marking its beginning, and giant letters stating, " **The Great Naruto Bridge.** "

Inari stopped at the head of the bridge, before turning back to her, "Here we are!"

Sure, she could've just walked away from him, she could have also not have let him drag her here, it would've been easy for her. But she was curious, and this child was giving her some answers.

So she was going to play nice, for now.

She turned to Inari, crossing her arms, "So, why did you take me here?"

Inari pointed to the Bridge's title, "That guy I told you about earlier, he was the one who gave us hope again."

She looked to the only name in the title, _"Naruto…"_

Inari didn't give her a chance to speak, as he continued, "Yep, Naruto-Nii and his team made this bridge of everyone's hopes and dreams possible."

Inari then went on to tell a story, but it was a small one, mainly dealing with how his country had been ravaged by poverty, due to a man named Gato, how he caused a lot of suffering, and how they had been saved by a group his grandpa had brought with him.

To anyone else, it would have been heartwarming tale of triumph, and hope.

To her, it just showed how weak these people were. Needing others to solve their problems.

He started punching the air, making noises, "You should have seen them! They were like Ka-pow! And then Naruto-Nii and his Sensei helped us drive off the rest of Gato's bandits!"

Taking a breath, the boy looked once again to the name on the Bridge, "We owe a lot to them… To Konoha."

He gave a sigh, "Man, being a Shinobi must be awesome…"

Shinobi

Her eyes widened, "What was that?!"  
Inari looked startled at her sudden tone of voice, before he fumbled with his words, "Ah, uh…. Shinobi?"  
"Yes."

Inari looked at her, "Ah, okay… Well, Shinobi are really good fighters, and they can do all sorts of amazing things."

"Like what?!"

Her battle-thirst had begun to rear its head.

Inari looked at the grin on her face, it felt… Off.

"Well, uhhh…."

She looked at the boy, and saw that it was obvious that he knew something he wasn't telling her. Oh well, she could just find out herself.

More exciting that way.

Oh wait, Diplomacy.

"Well then." She began, "Could you point me in the direction that this, ah, Naruto went off in. That Konoha you spoke of"

Inari pointed to the bridge, "Uhh… If you follow the bridge, you can get to the mainland. You could find a map or something, but I guess you could always just ask some travelers if they could point you in the right way."

She grinned, as she began to face the bridge, and began to walk towards it.

Taking her first step on the bridge, a wind came by.

Long tresses of blue hair swept out.

Her Rapier jingled in its place at her hip.

Her scarf's tassels floated in the wind, as her ice-blue eyes looked towards the pathway before her, an excited smirk spread across her features.

She was dressed in the uniform of a General in the Imperial Army, her pale skin almost shining in the sunlight, as she fixed the cap that rested on top of her head.

She dashed off, a loud boom echoing as she went her full-speed, leaving behind a gaping Inari.

"What the-?!"

She was sprinting down the bridge, the surroundings blurred by the speed she was traveling at, as she thought one thing.

" _How many new torture techniques can I learn?"_

General Esdeath, the number one Sadist, had arrived in the Elemental Nations.

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The road to Konoha had been simple enough. People she had seen along the way had given her a fair idea of where the area Konoha was located in was.

And then all she had to do was follow the signs.

Now, it wasn't like they had signs pointing to the place, saying, "Here we are, come and find us!"

No, it was infinitely more subtle than that.

A small symbol engraved on a tree.

The signs of travel that took a toll on the ground.

And then she was lead to a massive forest, full of trees that easily towered over the biggest of trees back in the Empire, truly tall trees.

Navigating the forest was rather easy in itself, but the sheer size and density of the forest was something else. She often found herself staring at trees that seemed extremely similar, but there was always something about the trees that Esdeath was sure of.

The small, spiraling leaf-like symbol etched into them.

Konoha, Leaves.

It made sense.

And so she had been following the strange Leaf symbol, and was rewarded.

Sunlight broke through the trees, Esdeath herself being basked in it, as she stepped out onto a massive road, multiple travelers and trading caravans already on the road.

" _Seems this is the way."_

And so, she began to walk.

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Gates.

Massive gates.

Massive, red gates with the kanji for fire etched onto them.

Apparently this was the entrance to Konoha.

" _Well, it's not like the gates back in the Capital are any less gaudy."_ She thought.

The massive throngs of people that were also traveling on the road were surging towards the gates, Esdeath herself making her way to the entrance, taking in the sight of her surroundings.

Soon, she was approached by a rather lanky looking person, dressed in a green vest with a red spiral of sorts on the back, wearing black pants and black, open-toed sandals.

He was rather plain-looking, with dull black eyes, brown hair that shadowed his eyes, and a pair of swords at his waist.

But the thing that caught her eye, was a headband the man wore across his forehead, with the same, strange leaf-like symbol like the ones she saw back in the forest.

The man spoke, "Chunin Izumo Sakake at your service, and now I'll be needing your identification, or traveling pass to enter the village."

So it seemed that he had a position in the government.

Now she was getting somewhere.

She complied with his terms, bringing out her Empire issued Soldier's ID, and enjoyed the look of confusion on the man's face.

He looked to Esdeath, as he handed back her ID, "Ah, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't recognize this type of Identification, so you'll ha-."

He was cut off, as the General raised her hand in front of his face in a hushing gesture, "Well, I can answer that."

Her eyes turned dark, as Izumo looked at her, "But I'll be needing to see whoever your leader is here."

Izumo stood his ground, but was still looking disturbed, "On what grounds?"

Esdeath smirked, as she answered with a tone of mirth, "Matters of Diplomacy."

"My country wants to make some arrangements with yours."

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Hiruzen Sarutobi, the fabled God of Shinobi, a man granted the title of 'The Professor' for his knowledge in the shinobi arts. A man with skills unparalleled by any other in his village. A person who always thought with a calm mind, and acted accordingly to any situation thrown at him.

He was in his later years, ranging about his mid-eighties, with grey hair upon his balding head. His skin was rather tan, and wrinkled with age. Small aging spots littered his face, which usually had a kind, grandfatherly smile upon it. He wore a red and white ensemble, with a similar red and white hat with the Kanji for 'Fire' written upon it, signifying his position.

This man was the Hokage.

Normally, he probably would have been lamenting the fact he had paperwork to do, maybe even burning the stack of papers in a small…. 'Accident'….

But no, these papers were important, they couldn't be avoided and had to be done.

These were the Chunin Exam's forms after all.

Well….The forms for the Genin that had passed their first tournament rounds anyway.

Hiruzen took a drag from the pipe in his mouth, inhaling the tobacco smoke into his lungs, before giving a relaxing breath as the smoke escaped his body. He had a small smile in place, as his thoughts turned to a Genin under his command that he held dear.

" _So, Naruto-Kun is finished with his training for his match against the Hyuuga boy…"_ Once again, he puffed some of the smoke, as he reminisced. Hiruzen was ecstatic that the young Genin had gotten this far in the Exams, actually, he had been expecting it. _"He's definitely come a long way, in such a short amount of time… To think, he was just an Academy Student a few months ago…"._ The wizened Hokage had been expecting great things from the Uzumaki, but even he was surprised at the things he had accomplished in his short career. He had fought against an A-ranked Shinobi, Zabuza of the Mist, and had survived. He had defeated Zabuza's apprentice, (Granted, he had tapped into the Kyuubi's power), and had saved a Nation from a tyrannical Gato, with his Shinobi Cell, Team 7.

So yeah, he was damn proud.

The Sarutobi's face went neutral, as his thought turned elsewhere, _"But still… The Hyuuga boy, Neji, is being hailed as a prodigy in his clan. Naruto's going to need to have done some serious training to be able to fight on an even ground."_

" _And then there's Orochimaru…"_

Another thing to Naruto's credit. He had encountered, and fought against the Snake Sannin Orochimaru. Not many could say the same.

Tensions had increased once the Snake Sannin had interfered with the Survival Portion of the Exams, when he had given Uchiha Sasuke his Cursed Seal of Heaven, and had managed to brand Naruto with a Five-Pronged Seal, cutting off his access to his Biju's chakra. Hiruzen had put all his forces on high alert, and to search for any signs of the Sannin. Luckily, he had heard that one of his other students, Jiraiya, had been able to remove the Five-Pronged Seal placed upon the young Uzumaki.

But he didn't dare cancel the Exams.

No, that would show all the other participating Villages that Konoha couldn't take care of itself, and that Orochimaru himself had advised against doing so, lest he have some….Fun with the village.

So the Chunin Exams were proceeding as usual.

And normally, that would have been the case.

In another place, Hiruzen would have kept the Chunin Exams going.

He would have attended the tournament.

Nothing different would have happened.

But, a knock on his door was heard, as he raised a brow in curiosity.

"Enter."

As the door opened, and a figure stepped inside, he recognized it to be one off the guards he had stationed at the main gates, Izumo Sakake if he remembered. The lanky Chunin entered, before someone else stepped inside as well.

This person, Hiruzen did not recognize.

Long blue hair that fell to her knees, a rather strange outfit, cold blue eyes. Porcelain skin that shined in the light, and she brazenly carried around a massive Rapier at her side.

She was new.

Izumo gave a salute, before addressing the Hokage, "Hokage-Sama."

Hiruzen nodded, before leaning forward on his desk, and interlaced his fingers, "Ah, Izumo, to what do I owe this visit?"

The Chunin stepped to the side, allowing Esdeath to enter, gesturing towards her, "That, would be her, Hokage-Sama."

The Old Man looked upon the beauty before him, as she began to walk in the room, heading towards his desk.

Esdeath herself bowed, taking off her military cap as she did so, "It's an honor to meet the leader of this village, Hokage."

While Esdeath was more in tune with her more… Primal Instincts, That didn't mean that she couldn't act according to the situation before her. As a General, she had a duty to represent the Empire after all.

Hiruzen gave a chuckle, before calming down, "Hokage is just my title, my name is Hiruzen."

Esdeath gazed at the man before her. While he was indeed aged, there was still a certain glint in his eye, as if daring the world to try and take him on.

She could respect that.

She gave a small smile, "I'll try to remember that."  
The Hokage leaned back once more, as he decided to get straight to business, "So, may I ask why you were brought here, or why you are here?" He gestured to a chair in front of his desk.  
Esdeath took a seat offered to her, "Well, that's rather simple, actually." She adjusted her cap, a glint appearing in her eyes, "I represent a certain Government, and you happened to catch our eye."

Before Hiruzen could ask her what she meant by that, Esdeath had already continued speaking, "What I mean is, a ship of ours recently sunk around the coast of this country, and the crew was saved by the local residents of the town."

"And the thing is, they discovered they were in a completely as yet undiscovered continent."

This surprised Hiruzen, and that was saying something. She wasn't from the Elemental Nations?! Then that meant…

"So, Ms. Esdeath. You're saying that you come from a completely foreign land?"

Her smirk increased, "Yes, I am. And I'm also saying that you are one of the first Villages I have encountered, the other being the one called, I believe it was called Nami."

If he wasn't interested before, Hiruzen was now. So the other Hidden Villages didn't know about this? This meant Konoha was the first. And she said that she had heard about Konoha from the nation of Nami, the very one Naruto had visited.

That child never ceased to give him more paperwork, didn't he?

Esdeath raised her hand beside her face, before continuing, "I represent the ruling Government of my country, The Empire. And as the Empire's representative, I would like to discuss a proposition on its behalf."

The Wizened Hokage raised a brow, "Such as?"

The Imperial General spoke, "Trade routes, boundaries, laws of your land, the basics." Her eyes narrowed, and became slightly devious, "And even a possible alliance, should it be deemed possible by my Emperor."

Hiruzen seemed to understand, "I see."

Esdeath looked rather pleased with herself, before her eyes widened, and she bopped her fist into her other hand, "Oh yes, another thing, if I may?"

He nodded.

She continued, "When our sailors returned, they mentioned a word that was rather strange to all who heard it. I hoped that you would elaborate further."  
Once again, Hiruzen nodded, "If it is within my knowledge to answer, than yes."

Esdeath leaned forwards, "What does the word…'Shinobi'… mean exactly?"

A shadow descended upon Hiruzen's features, his face obscured by the Hokage's Hat he wore upon his head. But if you managed to see through the darkness, you could see the tiny smirk on his face.

Rather abruptly, the Hokage stood up, and looked upwards, "Tora!"

From the place he had looked at on the ceiling, an individual with a mask in the shape of a tiger dropped from the ceiling in a blur, essentially appearing from thin air.

The figure knelt, before a distinctly female voice spoke out, "Hokage-Sama."

Hiruzen noticed the slight look of surprise Esdeath had on her face, before it turned into a wide grin.

Esdeath, meanwhile thought to herself, _"I suspected that there were others in the room with us, but I didn't see her until she was called out."_ Her cap shadowed her eyes, as her grin stayed in place, _"This place really was worth my time!"_

Hiruzen turned to the masked Anbu before him, raising his hand in a motion for her to stand up. "Tora, accompany me and Miss Esdeath here to the semi-finals of the Chunin Exams."  
He turned to walk to the door, the masked Anbu following him. As he did so, Esdeath gave him a look, "Chunin Exams?"  
The Hokage responded with a rather grandfather-like grin, "Ah, sorry." He coughed, attempting to clear his throat, "Chunin, is the second rank in our warrior system we have, and the Chunin Exams are a series of tests so that members of the lowest rank, Genin, can get promoted to Chunin themselves."  
The General gave a nod in acknowledgement, before she questioned him further, "And this has what to do with my previous inquisition?"

Hiruzen turned to her once again, before he puffed on his pipe once more, "You said you wanted to know what a Shinobi was, correct?". He turned around, once again walking to his destination, "If so, then follow me."

And so she did.

Esdeath followed him out of the door, and the two plus the Anbu began on their way to the stadium.

Hiruzen dragged on his pipe once again, puffing out smoke with an almost unnoticeable smirk.

He was going to send a message to this…Empire of hers with the Chunin Exams.

That Konoha could be a reliable ally.

Or something infinitely more simple.

Don't fuck with us.

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Uzumaki Naruto's day started out rather simple.

He had woken up in his apartment per usual. He had made himself a nice, warm breakfast of instant Ramen, which he had slurped down with utter glee. He had made sure his kunai and shuriken pouches were stocked. He had even made sure that he had his victory speech prepared.

Because today was the day he would kick Neji's ass! He would beat him to a pulp and make him apologize to Hinata if it was the last thing he did. He promised Hinata he would, and he doesn't go back on his word!

The young Uzumaki had golden Blond hair, spiked up in all directions, the bangs kept out of his face by the blue Konoha headband around his forehead. Three symmetrical Whisker marks were upon each cheek. He was dressed in his signature Orange outfit, consisting of Orange pants, and an Orange and blue jacket, with an Uzumaki swirl on the back. Mischievous Cerulean eyes glinted in the daylight, as he thought of different ways to humiliate the Hyuuga Prodigy after he beat him in the Exams.

He also happened to be a Jinchuriki, a human who had a Biju sealed inside of them since birth.

Biju. Nine creatures capable of great destruction, each with a set number of tails displaying their power. The Biju were a mystery to most Shinobi. How they came about into existence, why they were always so destructive, all of these questions and more were raised at the topic of Biju.

The only sure thing they knew, was that the Biju could not be killed, as they were masses of pure chakra coalesced into the form of whatever animal they were. The Biju could only be repelled, or sealed within an infant, allowing the child to later on access the Biju's power.

Even the supposed weakest of the Nine Biju, the Ichibi, was said to be able to raze entire villages to the ground with little effort.

It just so happened to be Naruto's luck, that he ended up getting the strongest Biju sealed in him.

Being the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, he had been shunned for most of his life. Nobody ever really threatened his safety before, maybe a drunkard or two when he was little, but for the most part, the other Villagers of Konoha had just stared right through him, denying his right to even exist.

Even now, they still didn't think much of him.

When it was announced that he would be facing Neji, the Prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, most of the people in attendance had already written him off the roster. Even at the distance he was from the crowd, he could hear them say things like he didn't even stand a chance, that he wasn't going to last even a single second against Neji.

That he was just going to fail, just like always.

But today was going to be different.

He wasn't going to be looked down upon, he was going to win, and nobody would ever call him a failure again!

Not today.

Not tomorrow.

Never again!

He hadn't trained his ass of for a month straight with Pervy-Sage for nothing! He was going to kick Neji's ass and whether everyone liked it or not, he was going to win!

He wasn't going to lose, not even if he had to face Gaara!

As a fire lit in his eyes, Naruto Uzumaki began his trek to the Chunin Exams Stadium.

But first, he had to get one last session of training in.

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Cheering.

LOTS of cheering.

This was the primary noise that was heard all across the Stadium, as the on looking crowd yelled out their excitement to their hearts content.

Esdeath herself gazed down at the participants gathered in the center of the fighting grounds, as she was seated in a booth right beside the Hokage, as another person approached them.

The person in question was a man similarly dressed to the Hokage, the exception being that his robes were colored Green and White, instead of the Hokage's Red. The other difference in the two Kage's outfits, was that instead of the Kanji for fire being on his hat, the newcomer had the kanji for wind adorning his. His face was covered by a facemask and shroud.

"Ahh, Hokage-Dono. I wasn't aware that we were going to be having a guest for this part of the tournament." The man said.

Hiruzen gave a friendly chuckle, as he acknowledged the man, "Ah, Kazekage-Dono, welcome back." He turned to the now named Kazekage, "Well, this was a rather recent development for myself as well." He gestured a hand to the Imperial General, "This is Ms. Esdeath, she will be joining us for the remainder of the Chunin exams, I hope it doesn't bother you that I didn't alert you sooner."

The Kazekage shrugged, before giving out a raspy chuckle, "Not at all Hokage-Dono. After all, I'm sure there's a reason for this rather interesting development."

Esdeath herself inclined her head to the man, "A pleasure to meet you."

The Kazekage inclined his head, "The pleasures all mine, I assure you."

Hiruzen looked to the Kazekage as the man sat down, "You must be tired from the journey."

The Kazekage just looked to Hiruzen, his eyes narrowed a bit, "Not at all, it's a good thing the Exams were held here this time." His eyes became slightly joking, "While you're still young, the trip might have been too much for you Hokage-Dono. Maybe it's time you retired and decided on the Fifth?"

Say what you will about the Kage, but not even they will pass up a chance to jab at eachother.

The Hokage just chuckled, "Ha, please don't count me as some old geezer just yet, I intend to do this for at least another Five years." He looked to the crowd, his mouth contorting into a smile, his teeth glinting in the light as the so called curtains began to rise. "Well now, let's begin."

The Hokage clapped his hands together, as he rose to his feet, and addressed the crowd, his voice booming over the entire stadium, and the rest fell quiet **,** "Thank you everyone for attending the Hidden Leaf's Chunin Selection Exams!"

"We will now start the main tournament matches between the eight participants who made it through the preliminaries!"  
"Please stay! And watch until the end!"

With that, the crowd once again cheered, as Hiruzen took his seat. Meanwhile, the Kazekage glanced at Hiruzen, "If it's eight participants, then one seems to be missing. The Uchiha to be precise."

A puff of smoke appeared, as the Wizened Sandaime once again puffed on his pipe, "No worries Kazekage-Dono, I'm sure young Sasuke will be here for his match on time."

"Besides, it appears that the first match will be beginning soon."

On the field, all of the other contestants had begun to file out, leaving only two people left standing. Both were males, one a pale skinned teen who wore bandages on his forearms and hands, and long dark hair that reached his mid-back. His eyes were pale, having no pupils whatsoever, while he wore the standard Konoha headband across his forehead.

The other appeared to be a year younger, with wild Blond hair and cerulean eyes. His face was marked with three symmetrical whisker marks on each cheek, while dressed in one of the most… Interesting outfits most of the crowd had ever seen.

They were Hyuuga Neji, and Uzumaki Naruto.

Esdeath was interested in what the young warriors could do, and hoped it wouldn't be a boring fight, much like the tournaments sometimes held in the Capital. Although, amongst the crowd, she heard someone murmur a name she herself had heard before.

"Hey, that's that Naruto kid!" She followed the civilian's line of sight, landing on the one in the orange, with Blond hair.

Naruto?

Like the name on that bridge?

The one who had apparently saved an entire nation from disrepair and tyranny?

She sat up in her seat, turning her head to face the Hokage, "Hokage-Dono, Who is that? The Blond one on the right?"  
"Ahh." The Hokage took another drag of his pipe, "That is young Naruto-kun, a rather fresh Genin from the newest batch of graduates."

Her eyes looked upon him, "Really?"  
So it was him.

"So is he the one the people in Nami seemed to praise so much?"

Hiruzen looked slightly surprised but regained his composure, "So you heard of that little exploit of his, did you?"

She nodded, "Yes, it was what most of the populace there ever seemed to talk about. I couldn't walk even five minutes without hearing some mentioning of his name. It was actually part of the reason I decided to visit here, about how I heard of Konoha in the first place."

Hiruzen seemed to relax, and sat back in his chair, releasing the pent up smoke in his lungs in small rings, as he puffed. Although, you could see a slight merriment in his features, _"As usual, you seem to attract the strangest of things, Naruto-kun."_

Once again, he focused as Esdeath continued, "I suppose I'm asking what is so special about him."

She noticed the slight change in demeanor when she had first mentioned his name, apparently the two were rather close. Then, she noticed his eyes gained a twinkle at her last inquiry.

Hiruzen opened with a sigh, before answering her, "Nothing really."

Well, that surprised her. After all this talk of him, and this was her answer.

She noticed Hiruzen once again was speaking, "In fact, he's actually considered to be one of the weakest Genin there is."

Her eyes turned slightly uncaring at this revelation. So… He was weak.

She didn't particularly care for the weak. Her rules for life mainly consisted of survival of the fittest. If you were weak, you died, and deserved to die at the hands of the strong.

Noticing her look of apathy, Hiruzen decided to unleash some of that good old grandpa wisdom, "Now, don't let that fool you, I said he is considered to be one of the weakest." He gestured down to the stadium, where the two participants stood, "And his opponent just so happens to be the one Genin to be considered the strongest Genin in the entire village." He once again dragged on his pipe, "Now look at Naruto-kun. He, who has been called weak, is now facing someone who is considered the strongest… And yet, do you see him admitting defeat?"

No, true to his word, Esdeath did not see any doubt or worry in the boys eyes, only pure confidence.

"He knows that everyone is expecting him to lose. Everyone here is probably placing their bets on Neji as we speak. He KNOWS it."

"And yet, not once has he doubted himself. He believes that he will win, because he made someone a promise that he would. That's why he believes he will win, because that's the only possibility he can see in his mind. Defeat literally isn't an option to him."

"He's faced a lot of adversity. His whole life has basically been an uphill battle." The Hokage's eyes turned from the General, to the young Blond in the stadium, "And still, he keeps climbing, every day."

"So say what you will about him. That he's weak, that he's dumb. Even tell him that he's just going to end up dead if he keeps this up. And then he'll just tell you to shut up and continue climbing because he's heard it all before."

"And lately, he's been surprising a lot of people."

He looked to Esdeath, seeing her a little more interested in the boy, "Maybe he'll end up surprising you as well."

And as the two boys began to take their places, readying themselves for the fight to come, as all eyes wandered upon them.

A destiny changed.

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Those eyes…

Just like always, those eyes looked hollow.

The look of someone who believes you're nothing compared to them. The look of a person who refuses to believe you can do anything.

Those condescending eyes…

He was going to enjoy beating the shit out Neji.

Down in the Chunin Exams stadium, Uzumaki Naruto slowly raised his right arm, forming a fist pointed directly at his opponent. "I told you before…" He began, as the Hyuuga Prodigy tilted his head towards him, a look of defiance and determination formed on the Blond's face, "You're definitely going down!"

All Neji did in response was activate his Byakugan.

The Hyuuga himself was quite impressed with the look of resilience Naruto had put on, _"He has that look of someone who totally believes in himself… There's no doubt in him."_

The proctor of this stage of the exams, Shiranui Genma, spread out his arms, signifying their match had begun, "Now the first fight, begin!"

Neji was preoccupied with his earlier musings, sliding into the Jyuken fighting stance of his clan, giving out a small chuckle, "Heh… That's what makes it worthwhile", a smirk was in place of his usual apathetic look, "It'll be fun to watch you fall apart when you discover the reality of your situation failure."

Naruto just put on a confident grin, and also readied himself, "Stop all that blabbering!" Fingers curled into fists, "Let's fight already!"

But instead of rushing into battle without a second thought as he usually would, the young Uzumaki decided to study his opponent, recalling what he could about Neji's fighting style, _"The Jyuken attacks the opening points, disrupting the chakra flow of his opponents…"_ A look of frustration took residence, a scowl forming, "If I get too close, he'll press my points and I won't be able to use any Jutsu." This was bad, considering the fact that his fighting style was essentially beating the shit out of something until it stopped fighting back. A loud cry was heard, as Naruto crossed his fingers into the Ram sign, "Alright! Distance fighting it is! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!** "

Instantly, four doppelgangers of the Blond sprung into existence from clouds of smoke, each reaching into their pouches and pulling out Shuriken and kunai.

Neji found this funny.

"Whether it be one failure, or five, it makes absolutely no difference." Once again, the veins around his eyes bulged, his eyes becoming pure white, "Such is Fate…"

Each of Naruto's clones just gave taunting smirks of their own, each starting to speak.

One clone started, and in a burst of speed, rushed towards the Hyuuga, "Hey!"

The others followed, "Stop!"

"Disrespecting!"

"Me!"

Two of the clones rushed ahead of the others, each aiming to disable Neji's legs, as to slow him down. Their endeavor proved futile, as Neji simply used their momentum to flip over them, while simultaneously slamming their heads into the ground.

The remaining clones charged him while he was still in mid-air, but Neji spun his body to and just as the clones reached him, threw out both of his legs and kicked them directly in their chests, dispelling them.

His ears twitched, as the two clones he had thrown into the ground hadn't dispelled, and were now charging him from behind. As the clones thrusted their kunai forwards, Neji grabbed their wrists from behind his back, and then threw up their arms to get them off-balance, before he delivered a heavy palm-thrust to each of their chests.

The clones landed in a heap near their creator, dispelling upon reaching him.

And once again, the two Genin of Konoha stood there and measured eachother.

And like that, the Chunin Exams Finals had begun in earnest.

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To say Esdeath was surprised, was an understatement.

At the start of the match, the two had exchanged a couple words, as expected of opponents, as well as it seemed that there was some bad blood between the two.

She had expected the Blond one to rush in, as he looked the type of a brawling sort of fighter.

The other had a distinct air of grace around him, most likely his style centered around defense.

She had expected for him to wait for the Blond one to make the first move.

She had expected a lot of things.

But not for the Blond to create copies of himself.

This raised many questions in her mind. Did this boy find a Teigu? Was it a coincidence?

Or did this nation have their very own versions of the Teigu?

That in itself was an exciting thought.

Her stare of wonder and slight disbelief was not lost upon the wizened Hokage, as he chuckled slightly at her surprise.

Esdeath's attention was turned to the Hokage, as his voice rang through her ears, "Well, you sure seemed interested in young Naruto-kun's Jutsu".

Jutsu? Is that what they called their versions of the Teigu? What else could it have meant?

She didn't bother turning her head; more interested in the fight going on below them, but did gesture to him that she was paying attention to him.

"Aye."  
It seemed that there was more to this fight than she had assumed. The speeds that both combatants had moved in that initial encounter were at the very least equal to some of the higher-up trainee assassins they had back in the Empire. Top-tier even among the new batch even.

Possibly even the Elite Seven.

And one of them was supposed to be the weakest in his generation?

An amused smile plastered itself across her features, as she leaned forward onto the railing.

Surely, things were getting interesting.

Now there was a fight that she actually wanted to watch.

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Back in the battlefield, Naruto had just finished watching the destruction of his clones. Neji had made quick work of dispatching his doppelgangers, his demeanor basically screaming of arrogance.

" _Damnit! Does this guy have eyes on the back of his head?!"_

Neji gave a Hmmph, "Hah, become Hokage eh? For someone like you, it's impossible." Neji slid out of his stance, simply letting his arms hang at his sides, letting Naruto know just what he thought, and his smirk increased, "Talent is decided at your birth…" Neji lifted up his hands in a lecturing gesture, "You could say that everything is decided when a person is born."

He would have continued, had Naruto not lost his temper.

The Uzumaki stomped his foot on the ground, and glared at the Hyuuga, "Why the hell do you always automatically decide things like that!"

He was answered with the Hyuuga giving a confused stare, "Then… Are you saying that anyone can become Hokage through hard work?" Neji once again mockingly chuckled, "Only a handful of shinobi are chosen as Hokage"

The Hyuuga's confident look slowly morphed into a somber one, "People live in the unchangeable flow known as Fate." He fell silent for a couple of moments, before once again addressing the Blond Shinobi, "The only Fate that every person shares… Is death."

Anyone would have expected any other person to become somber at hearing this, to reevaluate their station in life, to feel sympathy towards the young Hyuuga and his morbid ideology.

Uzumaki Naruto essentially lived to break these kinds of expectations.

"So what!?" Once again, he crossed his fingers in the Ram seal, "I'm not good at giving up!"

Instead of four clones appearing, many puffs of smoke obscured the battlefield, revealing a multitude of clones, at least twenty. All of them ready for the fight. Naruto himself threw a kunai, at which Neji just tilted his head to avoid.

Neji scoffed, "I'm not stupid. Even if all of your clones have a chakra system, that doesn't mean I haven't seen through your attack pattern."

He turned at a sudden sound and was met with a fist closing in on his face, one of Naruto's clones with its fist cocked back, who had used **Henge** to become the Kunai thrown, "I told you to stop automatically deciding things!"

Neji managed to block the fist, but that allowed the rest of the Blonds to close the distance between them and Neji, all of them roaring a battle cry.

They swarmed the Hyuuga, each throwing fists and kicks in an effort to hit their opponent.

The Hyuuga himself was focusing on dodging and weaving through the horde of clones, seemingly ignoring the multitude of Blonds in favor of moving outwards of the mass of bodies. He focused, before sneering, _"I told you I'm not stupid. The true body…"_ Neji dashed forwards, his speed carrying him through whatever ground was between him and his target, _"I know where it is!"_

He made it out of the scuffle, reaching one of the Naruto's who remained in the outskirts of the fight, who in turn widened his eyes as Neji appeared in front of him, "Shit!"

"GUH!"

A massive burst of smoke appeared, signifying the mass dispelling of his clones.

When it cleared, Neji could be seen with his index and middle finger pressing into the blond's chest, right where his heart should have been. "….You're the real one…"

Blood seeped out of Naruto's mouth, his breathing ragged, as his heart failed.

In the stands, shouts could be heard.

"Just like I thought!"  
"Well, he did well to get this far."

"It's over!"

And in the stands, an Ice Queen looked down on him.

"So is the end result of a weakling."

Naruto could hear all of these murmurs and shouts.

He'd heard them all before.

He even heard Neji tell him that all he did was useless.

And that's why he was chuckling.

"Hehehe." He lifted his head a little, "Hehe…Hahahaha!" And then he fully lifted his head, showing bloodstained teeth, "That's why…"

He grinned, "I told you to stop deciding things like that."

And in a burst of smoke, he disappeared.

Neji reared back his head, shock evident on his features, "What?!"

"Eat this Neji-Teme!"

Two Naruto's appeared at Neji's right, their fists cocked and ready to strike the Hyuuga.

The mood of the stadium changed drastically. And in the words of one Inuzuka Kiba.

"YEEAAAAH! KICK THAT BASTARD'S ASS NARUTO!"

Naruto roared as he descended upon Neji, he and his clone both throwing their fists forwards, "I'M COMING AT YOU WITH EVERYTHING I GOT AND ALREADY PREPARED TO DIE!"

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"What?!"

"Did that kid just outwit the Prodigy?"

"WOOOO! HELL YEAH!"

Back in the Executive viewing booth, the Kage's had a similar reaction.

The Kazekage turned and addressed Hiruzen, amusement displayed on what parts of his face were visible, "Ha, that one seems to be quite the quick thinker, eh Hiruzen?"

The Hokage grinned, before nodding, "Yes, he's always been one to be full of surprises."

His confident face gained the attention of the General herself, as he faced her with a knowing smile, "I think he lived up to my words from before."  
He received a nod, "That he did, Hokage-Dono."

Esdeath could agree with the Hokage, the lad was definitely one to surprise others, she herself had written him off earlier.

Now, she knew better.

She once again turned her attention to the fight that had taken such an interesting turn.

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"HAAAAAAAA!"

*THUD*

The two Naruto's threw their fists forwards, each feeling a solid blow across his opponents cheek, "Yeah!"

His cheers were also mirrored by the crowd, as they cheered in approval.

Neji's confident smirk remained, as his body was surrounded by a thin layer of chakra, which disrupted Naruto's punch, "Wha-?"  
The chakra began to spin, pushing Naruto away, and in an instant he was blown back, sent flying from the sheer force and power of the rotating chakra.

Or rather, that's how it should have been.

Instead, Neji released the pent up chakra he had built up, preparing to unleash the secret technique of his clan. He had felt his chakra flow outwards. He had felt Naruto's punch being disrupted by his rotating chakra. So why?  
Why the hell was he smiling?

Naruto's thoughts answered this question, _"Hell yeah, Ero-Sennin!"_

As his punch was blocked by the rotating chakra, Naruto began channeling his own energy. Pushing it outwards to his fists, focusing as much power into it as possible until a blue outline could be seen around the fist.

And then he made the Chakra spin in the opposite direction of whatever Neji's chakra was attempting.

The pure amount of chakra Naruto had used in his attack had matched Neji's, and as such, the rotations canceled eachother out.

And so with no rotation carrying most of the force of the attack, Neji's Jutsu simply dispersed in all directions harmlessly.

Naruto's fist however, stayed its course.

*THUD*

And so Neji Hyuuga, the prodigy of his generation, was sent flying back by a Failure's punch.

Landing on his back, Neji quickly regained his footing, glaring at the grinning Blond.

All the while, Naruto was praising himself, " _Who's the man?! I'm the man! Finally, that training with Ero-Sennin paid off!"_

Initially, he was supposed to learn water walking and chakra control of the 'Other' energy inside of him from the pervy old man, but he had gotten the hang of water walking rather fast, faster than he himself had anticipated. So while he still had a solid week left before his fight with Neji, The man he called Ero-Sennin, Jiraiya, had given him a new task.

" _Now, Gaki."_ Jiraiya's voice rang in his mind, " _You've been whining all this time about teaching you Jutsu right? Well if you can get the hang of this first task, then I might just do that."_ At the time, he had no idea why Jiraiya had assigned him the task he did, with the water balloon and whatnot, but know he was glad he did it. He once again envisioned Jiraiya and what he had said, " _It might not make much sense now, but trust me that it will later. You're wondering why you have that balloon, but right now it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you have to make the water inside spin."_

Neji's thoughts were a little less enthusiastic.

" _How did he break through the Kaiten?! It's an absolute defense!"_ He inhaled through his nose sharply, before exhaling from his mouth and effectively calmed himself down, _"I guess I'll have to use that technique."_ The veins around his eyes bulged once again as his chakra flared, " _And put him in his place!"_

"It's over, you're within my field of divination."

Neji then took a strange pose, his left leg and arm forward and towards the ground, while his right leg slid back, and his right arm raised high behind his back.

" **Jyuken: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms.** "

The Hyuuga disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of the stunned Blond, and struck him twice, "Two hands!"

He struck four more times.

"Four hands!"

And again.

"Eight hands!"

Each time, the number of blows that rained upon the Uzumaki doubled.

"Sixteen hands!"

"Thirty-Two hands!"

Neji landed the final blows directly on Naruto's chest.

"Sixty-Four hands!"

"GAH!"

Each burst of chakra finally took its toll, as Naruto was this time blown back by the Hyuuga's technique, sent sprawling across the ground and landing in a heap, unmoving.

Neji walked towards the slumped Uzumaki slowly, deliberately making his approach slow to taunt him. Neji looked upon his downed form, and started speaking in that same tone he always carried, "I have hit all Sixty-Four of your Opening points, I would bet you can't even stand…"

He felt no mercy for the boy struggling to rise, instead he stared in apathy, then in a twisted sense of pleasure, he smirked, "Heh…Is it painful?" His tone became more condescending than ever, his smirk growing every second, "Stay on your knees before a superior opponent, and realize just how powerless you are."

"Having your dreams come true through hard work…Is nothing more than a distorted illusion."

He was met with a defiant stare, before Naruto's eyes widened as another surge of agony racked his body, his face hitting the dirt, before remaining there.

It seemed that this was as far as he could go.

Wasn't it?

" _Damn it….."_

What about everyone who had cheered for him?

" _Damn it.."_

What about Lee, who had kept fighting, even when his body was damaged beyond what any medic had considered repairable.

"Damn it."

Hinata, who had been beaten down, even after all she had done was try and do her best?

" _Damn it!"_

He promised.

He promised….

He promised he was going to kick this guy's ass!

"DAMN IT!"

Slowly, he raised his head.

Then he rose to his hands.

Then his knees.

And beyond all odds, he managed to stand on his feet.

"I thought you said I wouldn't be able to stand up…. I guess all that Fate stuff you were talking about earlier was a bunch of shit, huh?"

A mocking grin was once again on his face, his eyes still confident. His will unbroken.

"I told you before… I'm not good at giving up!"

He heard Neji growl, "This guy…!"

"Just quit already… Continuing won't change anything, I have absolutely no grudge against you."

No grudge?

Fuck that.

"Well I sure as hell have a grudge with you!" The Blond raged, pointing a finger at Neji.

"Why?" The Hyuuga responded. He was honestly confused as to why his opponent seemed so adamant about fighting him when it was clearly pointless. It confused him why he would fight this hard, when he himself harbored no ill will towards the Blond. All he had done was state some unsavory facts that Naruto didn't seem to like hearing, but in Neji's mind, that didn't make them any less true.

Naruto grit his teeth in anger, "Why? Why… If you really are this strong…With those eyes that can supposedly see everything…" Naruto's eyes reflected a hidden rage that was being barely restrained, "Why the hell do you automatically decide everything before it even happens?! You, who's always been praised, whine about Fate…."

"But just why the hell did you attack and insult Hinata, when all she was trying to do was do her best!?"

Neji's Byakugan settled into a glare, "That's none of your conce-."

Naruto's voice just raised in volume, "Bullshit it is! Insulting her, automatically deciding that she's a failure, a loser!"

"I don't know what the hell happened…Main Family…Branch Family…And even if I never know what happened…."

His rage reached its peak, as he roared at his opponent, all previous pain in his body outweighed and ignored in favor of his anger.

"BUT PIECES OF SHIT LIKE YOU WHO CALL OTHER PEOPLE LOSERS… I WILL NEVER FORGIVE!"

Naruto's rage quelled, as he finally finished what he wanted to say and vented his frustrations, his breathing returning to normal, but his glare never ceased, seemingly permanently fixed upon the Hyuuga.

Neji had said nothing the entire time, but moments later decided to break the silence. "If you're going to go that far…I'll tell you.."  
Neji matched Naruto's glare with one of his own.

"The Hyuuga family's destiny of hatred."

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Esdeath, in all her long years of being an expert of torture and human anatomy, knew that Neji's aim was true. He had struck multiple organs, and she was pretty sure he had ruptured some of them.

And yet, the other boy still stood.

Despite all of her knowledge in the field of anatomy telling her that it shouldn't be physically possible for him to continue breathing, let alone stand back up, he had still done it. He had literally taken what would have killed many others.

At every turn, he had surprised everyone.

And he was considered the weakest of the Genin?

And from what she had been told by Hiruzen, Genin was the lowest rank in their warrior system.

These people…. These Shinobi… They were dangerous.

And that danger definitely excited her.

This fight was going over well, aside from all that boring talking, but since it was a fight she was sure they would again come to blows.

And she would be watching.

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"Listen."

Before Naruto could retort, Neji continued, "In the main family, there is a special Ninjutsu passed down… A Cursed Seal Jutsu to be precise…" He looked down, before continuing, "The Kanji that make up the seal itself represents a 'Bird in a cage'… It is a symbol of being tied down to a….Inescapable Fate."

Neji slowly raised his hands, reaching behind his head, and began to untie his headband, He finished, removing the cloth from his forehead, and holding it at his side.

And upon his forehead, was a seal.

( _AN: Is it just me, or does Neji's seal look like a swastika… Wait, Nevermind, it definitely looks like one. Don't ask me why, ask Kishimoto that. Seriously though, when you first saw his seal, try and tell me that this wasn't the first comparison you made.)_

"When I turned Four, I had this seal branded onto my forehead, during what was supposed to be a festival. I say supposed, because on that very same day, a Diplomat from Kumo kidnapped Hinata-Sama under disguise while he was signing a peace treaty between our two countries."

"My father and Hinata-Sama's were brothers…Twins…. But Hiashi-Sama was born first, and thus his brother's Fate was decided."

"This seal delivers absolute agony to those under it when a certain handseal is held up, and will only disappear after the Branch member's death, sealing the secrets of the Byakugan with it."

"But back to the Ambassador, he was discovered by Hiashi-Sama, and in a fit of rage, Hiashi-Sama struck him down."

"Kumo responded, saying that one of their leaders had been killed, and demanded that Hiashi-Sama paid for it with his life, and of course his corpse after the deed was done."  
"They made a deal with the leaf, Hiashi's body, in exchange for peace. Konoha agreed to the terms, and war was avoided."

Neji's glare turned dark, as his voice grew somber, "Thanks to my dad…Who was killed by the Main family to replace Hyuuga Hiashi's corpse…"  
A self-deprecating laugh escaped his throat, his face morphing into a mix of amusement and disgust, "Hehehe. To escape this horrible curse…..This Fate…. There is no method but death."

"Born first, born second, my father's Fate was decided just like that." Neji's glare turned malicious, and leveled it at Naruto, "And this fight…Your destiny was decided the moment I became your opponent."  
"Your Fate is to lose to me. There's no doubt." He finished, retying his headband around his forehead.

To Naruto, these revelations were both shocking, and horrible. He felt bad for both Neji and his father. But still….

"Shut up! We won't know until this fight's over Neji-Teme!"

Fate this, Fate that. Goddamnit, he hated listening to this broken record of a philosophy. If his Fate was to lose here, he would beat the shit out of Fate itself.

Fuck Fate!  
"I don't know how much it hurt that your Dad was killed a long time ago, but thinking about Fate is all decided because of that is a huge mistake!"

His opponent merely sighed, before he was once again face to face with Neji, who was preparing to strike him. Naruto felt the palm connect to his chest, and was once again sent flying back.

And once again, he landed with a heavy thud.

Neji straightened himself out, stretching his neck, as he addressed Genma, "Proctor, I believe it's over."

He turned away from the Blond on the ground, already walking away, assured of his victory, "Heh, damn Loser."

The sounds of footwear scratching against dirt and dust filled his ears, as once again Naruto struggled to his feet.

"…I… Won't run…"

"I…Don't go back… On my word!"

Blood escaped from his mouth, a small trail leaving both sides of his mouth, and yet he still rose to his feet. His will forcing him on his legs, his promise reminding him why he couldn't, and wouldn't lose.

"THERE'S NO WAY I'M LOSING TO A COWARD WHO'S ALWAYS WHINING ABOUT FATE!"

Tempers rose on both sides, Neji facing Naruto once again, "An ignorant brat like you shouldn't be talking…. Destiny is something no man can oppose…"

He pointed to the Bloodied Uzumaki, finally losing that temper he had kept under control all these years, his anger and hate rising to the surface in an explosive outburst.

"Someone like you could never understand what it's like to be burdened with a symbol you could never rid yourself of!"

Naruto stood there, hearing what Neji had said.

Did he….

Did he really…. Just?

His breathing became harsher.

Memories of his younger days.

Those eyes…..

Those damn eyes…

People ignoring him, not even registering as a human being in those DAMNED EYES!

And he… Just told him that he wouldn't understand.

Just what the hell….

JUST WHAT THE HELL DID HE UNDERSTAND ANYWAY!

All those years of hatred, of scorn.

Of being a Demon.

Being alone.

So…So alone…

Wait…..

No…

He had friends now.

He looked Neji in the eyes…

"Yeah… I can…"

His usual shit-eating grin was back in place.

"And…. So what?"

"Stop trying to act so dark and broody, that's Sasuke-Teme's thing, and stop trying to be all cool, you're not the only one who's special." Once again, an air of determination surrounded the Blond. "Hinata too… She's suffered as much as any of us! A member of the Main family… But never being acknowledged, trying her best to change herself! Thinking that while she was coughing up blood fighting against you!"

"You're the exact same! The Branch family is supposed to protect the Main family. Yet doing that to Hinata… You're trying your damn best to defy Fate you hypocrite!"

With his rant finished, Naruto put his hands in the Dragon seal.

Neji scoffed, "Your Pathways were blocked when I used my Eight Trigrams remember? You won't be able to use chakra for a while, how do you intend to fight?" His Byakugan leveled towards the Uzumaki, "In the end, you and Hinata-Sama share the same Fate…"

"Just shut the hell up about Fate already! Stop using that Byakugan to act like you know everyone's destiny!" Naruto crouched a little lower, "Fate this, Fate that, I'm sick of all this Fate shit! Fate doesn't just end up a certain way! I can control my future, and so can everyone else!" His glare returned, as tiny wisps of chakra picked up around him, "And I'll prove it by beating the absolute shit out of both you and Fate!"

" _Fox… Lend me your power to just shut him up!"_

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

" _I CAN'T LOSE HERE! NOT NOW!"_

Neji saw him struggling to summon chakra, and decided to settle a wandering thought of his, "Can I ask you one thing? Just why do you go against your destiny so much?"  
Why, he asked.

The answer was rather simple.

"Because I….Was called a loser!"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Dark orange chakra suddenly erupted from the Blond, swirling around Naruto in a Maelstrom of power, his Chakra Pathways flooded with the energy and reopened.

His wounds also began to heal, little by little.

Neji, on the other hand, couldn't believe his supposedly all-seeing eyes.

"Impossible!"

" _How is chakra flowing outwards?! I'm 100% sure I hit ALL of his points! Just what is going on!?"  
_ He watched as he saw the chakra start swirling outwards from the pathways in his stomach, making its way to the rest of his body. Then he saw something odd.

His Byakugan saw a peculiar set of symbols across Naruto's stomach.

And looked deeper.

" _Who…"_

And when he looked deeper, he was met with the sight of a monster.

A Demon, specifically.

" _Is he!"_

The chakra continued to whip around him wildly, until it started to coalesce in nine parts, becoming more and more visible and began to resemble definite shapes.

Connected to various parts of Naruto's body, were nine dark orange tails of pure chakra.

"HERE I COME NEJI-TEME!"

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

To all who were above Fourteen years of age, the energy pouring from the Blond was all too familiar, and filled them with a sense of dread.

Hiruzen focused his eyes upon the one he considered his grandson, as the multiple tails of chakra spread out from parts of Naruto's body.

" _The feeling of this chakra…..It's definitely the Kyuubi's… But when did he learn to control it?"_

At first, the presence of the Kyuubi's chakra alerted him, and he was just a hairs-width away from calling any Fuinjutsu expert he could to come and help him help Naruto come back to his senses, as he thought his anger at the Hyuuga boy for assuming he didn't know anything about having your life being turned upside down by a seal… It couldn't have been further from the truth.

The malicious intent was still there in full blast, as potent as the day the Kyuubi had attacked all those years ago, it's killing intent crashing around everyone like a mighty wave.

It wasn't enough of the chakra to unleash the first real tail of the Biju's chakra, let alone the fangs and red eyes, but it should've still put a toll on the Genin's psyche.

And yet, Naruto seemed perfectly fine, as if he were in complete control.

And he was.

Perhaps he had been one of those to underestimate the Blond, even though he'd told so many others to not do the same.

He should really consider taking his own advice sometimes.

He looked over to see how his fellow Kage was doing, now that the identity of his Jinchuriki was revealed, and the Kazekage looked a little surprised at the turn of events.

Then he turned to Esdeath.

That's what worried him.

That look on her face was…Honestly, it was lewd.

And crazy.

It was Clewdzy.

The Woman herself was infinitely more so than Hiruzen could've told with just that one look, her thoughts running rampant at the sight of the Blond's newfound energy.

The darkness.

The sheer bloodlust.

This hatred!

This feeling of wanting to tear every living thing here apart!

It was so…..WONDERFUL!

Just like those years ago, when she had first seen her Teigu, and drank all of the blood in the chalice, her head filled with these very same thoughts.

And now she was getting the very same feeling from this boy-… No, this Warrior.

And much like her back then, he didn't seem the least bit affected in the slightest.

Some requirements of hers came to mind, at that time.

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Back inside the battlegrounds, The chakra tails that emerged from Naruto began to close in on their creator, wrapping themselves around him in an protective manner. The tails converged, their coloring becoming brighter the closer they got. As they finally finished converging on the Blond, the tails merged together, forming a bright orange cloak around him, although the cloak lacked a definite shape.

" _This power, like during Ero-Sennin's training…"_

Once again, a confident smirk was plastered on his face, himself excited with the rush of power and relief he felt from the chakra, _"But more!"_

Naruto dashed to his side, the dust around his feet kicking up in the air.

To those with a trained eye, the boy had moved at a much superior display of speed than he had shown previously. To many others, Naruto had seemingly disappeared.

Naruto reappeared in mid-air, throwing multiple projectile weapons such as kunai and shuriken, before landing on all fours and stick to the wall of the stadium, seemingly observing his opponent's moves.

The speed at which the projectiles were thrown was impressive, too fast for the Hyuuga Prodigy to dodge, so he decided on a second course of action. Much like he had earlier in the fight, Neji spun on the balls of his feet, gathering his chakra, and then released it outwards from the opening points all over his body, using his body's rotation as a basis for the Jutsu's power.

" **Kaiten!** "

A spinning dome of chakra erupted from the Hyuuga, the shuriken and kunai bouncing off the mass of chakra and most were sent sailing away from him, while others remained suspended in the air.

Meanwhile, Naruto witnessed this technique's power, and was glad he hadn't been caught in it. _"If he had managed to hit me with that earlier… Well, damn am I glad for the extra lesson Ero-Sennin taught me."_

Neji then caught the remaining shuriken that hadn't been blasted away, and threw them right back towards the Blond, who once again disappeared in a burst of speed, the shuriken sticking to the wall where he had been with solid thunks.

Neji had not prepared for the sudden increase in speed, straining his Byakugan to find his opponent. The Prodigy whipped his head to the right, seeing Naruto once again seen sticking to the wall, once again throwing a kunai, to which Neji threw one of his own in response.

Each chased after the kunai they had thrown, Naruto propelling himself off of the wall, while Neji jumped forwards to meet him.

*Clink*

The kunai met in the air, hitting each other dead on, as the two combatants reached the projectile and grabbed them out of the air, clashing with each other, before sliding across the ground once they landed.

"Hey!" The Uzumaki's voice rang through the clearing, garnering his enemy's attention, "You're confident in close combat, right?!" He didn't wait for an answer, as he kept speaking, "Let's go!"

Naruto began to charge.

No clones.

No projectiles.

No tactics.

No misdirection.

Just a charge as stubborn and truthful as the Blond himself.

"RAAAAAAAAAH!"

As the Blond Shinobi charged, getting closer and closer to his opponent, the words Neji had spoken to him throughout the fight haunted his mind.

" _Become Hokage?...Impossible."_

He's heard that before.

" _Failure's like you will always be doomed to watch their dreams die."_

How many times had people told him to give up?

" _People live in an unchangeable flow."_

Bullshit.

His cloak of chakra suddenly grew larger, surrounding his body and making him an orange meteor headed towards the Hyuuga across from him, tearing up the ground around his feet with every step he took.

"I don't know anything about the Hyuuga destiny or whatever, but if it's too much for you then you don't have to do anything anymore!"

He reared back his fist

"When I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuuga!"  
He sent it forwards, as Neji initiated another **Kaiten**.

"I'M NOT HOKAGE YET, BUT RIGHT NOW I'LL SETTLE FOR CHANGING YOU!"  
An unstoppable force met with an immovable object, colliding and fighting for superiority.

A shockwave ripped through the air, rending gouges in the ground and ripping up dust into the air. Massive gales of wind went through the crowd, most having to shield their eyes from the sheer ferocity of the winds.

Two masses were sent flying in opposite directions from the center of the cloud, hitting the ground and continuing to slide for a few feet after impact, creating trenches in their wake.

The crowd watched with eager eyes as the dust began to settle.

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Not raised anywhere near the Capital.

Check.

Massive amounts of potential.

Check.

Power?

Check.

Younger than herself?

Check.

Only one thing left.

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The dustcloud created from the two Genin's clash finally began to die down, revealing a massive crater where the two had met and traded blows, two similar trenches splitting from the crater itself.

Two deep holes in the ground were where the trenches lead.

Everyone waited in anticipation as their eyes flitted back and forth between the two deep holes in the ground, waiting to see which Genin would emerge from the earth first, and would literally emerge victorious.

From the crater on the left, a hand emerged, dragging with it a body.

Bated breaths.

Hushed whispers.

Complete silence as the owner of the appendage began to reveal themselves.

Pale, white eyes scanned his surrounding, as Hyuuga Neji rose from the ground.

Those same Pale eyes landed upon the other crater, inside of which laid a battered and broken Uzumaki Naruto.

That was it, he had won. Just like he had predicted, he had beaten down another hopeful Failure who thought they could somehow escape their fate, and had taught them about the harsh reality of things.

Even so, he had to give the loser some credit, for pushing him this far.

"Loser….Sorry….But this, this is reality."

As everyone prepared to hear the proctor shout out Neji's name in victory, as every observer had once again written off the Blond, even though he had given it his all.

Yet, despite every detail screaming of the Blond's defeat, there were still two people who had faith in the Uzumaki who had shattered everyone's expectations during this fight.

The ground near Neji's began to rumble, the Hyuuga looking down.

He was too late.

The last thing he saw before he was sent flying, was a fist and two orbs of cerulean blue.

Naruto burst from the ground, his fingers bloody, and yet he still had enough strength to throw one last punch, which connected to the Hyuuga's chin in a rising uppercut.

Neji landed roughly on his back, his breath escaping his lungs as he tried to comprehend how he had been struck. "My…Body…"

He tilted his head to his right, requiring an enormous effort because of what little strength remained in his body, and witnessed as the Naruto in the crater disappeared in a cloud of smoke. A self-deprecating smile was placed on his features, "To quickly use Kage Bunshin like that…" He coughed, as blood leaked from the corners of his mouth, "Your main Ninjutsu no less. How careless of me…"

Heavy breathes.

Panting.

And finally, Naruto managed to speak.

"I…."

"I failed the Academy Graduation Exam three times…"

Shock was evident upon the Hyuuga's face.

He had been beaten by this guy…

A sorrowful look overtook the Uzumaki, in remembrance of his less than perfect memories, "Because unluckily for me, the Ninjutsu test on the final exam was always decided… It always ended up being my weakest Ninjutsu."

Neji's mind was racing. What could have he failed on?  
He had shown an adept use of the **Henge** earlier.

He had used substitutions before.

And there was no possible way that he would've failed on-

"The **Bunshin no Jutsu** … Was my absolute worst Ninjutsu."

What?

But-

The Blond's face reverted to his usual cheeky and confident look, closing his eyes, throwing his arms behind his head, and turned around.

"Destiny can't be changed, blah, blah, blah! Stop whining and saying such useless crap like that. If I can change, why the hell can't you."

The Blond Failure turned his head to look at the Fallen Prodigy, opening his eyes again.

"Since you aren't a loser like me."

Shiranui Genma, the Exam Proctor, couldn't help but let the grin he felt coming spread across his features, a small laugh escaping his lips.

With pride in his voice, Genma announced the fights outcome.

"WINNER: UZUMAKI NARUTO!"

He'd done it.

He'd beaten Neji…..

Holy shit, he'd beaten Neji!

Naruto fell into a dazed stupor, still reeling from the thoughts in his head. He came back to his senses moments later, seemingly remembering where he was.

Wait, everyone was yelling.

"YEAAAAHHH!"  
He stared in awe, as the entire crowd began to erupt in applause, giving him a standing ovation for his achievement.

"HE WON!"

"CONGRATS KID!"  
They were cheering… for him?

These same people who had scorned him for years?

They were now cheering him on?

"THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!"

"GREAT FIGHT SHRIMP!"

Maybe….

Maybe he was one step closer to Hokage.

"WOOOOOO! GO, NARUTO!"

A wide grin formed on his face, becoming so wide his eyes squinted, as he threw up a peace sign. His grin giving way to barely restrained laughter, as he too began to cheer, "YATTAAAA! HEHE, I WON!".

This was a grin he had used many times before, one he had used as a mask for so many long years. But now….

This was a pure and innocent smile, a smile that only a lucky few had gotten to see from the Jinchuriki.

And it was this smile, that changed Uzumaki Naruto's destiny.

And it was because of this smile, a Blue-haired Sadist's face flooded with bright red.

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A pure and innocent smile…..

"Check…"

This warm feeling that came from her chest….

These emotions that so contrasted with her dark personality, and bloodlust.

That Warrior…..That Shinobi, who had been emanating such bloodlust and pressure earlier, was now smiling without a care in the world.

These emotions, all caused by the smile of a Blond Jinchuriki

Her next words were spoken in a hushed whisper.

"So this….. Is love…"

Those normally cold and piercing eyes now focused on a mop of spiky Blond hair, whisker marks, and smile with a warmth she hadn't thought possible.

"Naruto…."

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 _AN: Heeeeeey everybody! I'm back! And with a brand new story for all of you to enjoy!_

 _I noticed that most Akame Ga kill crossovers start during Shippuuden, and almost never feature a pre-Shippuuden Naruto, and even when they do, it's very brief. So I set it to myself to make such a thing happen._

 _Just to let you all know, this all takes place before Akame Ga Kill's Cannon, and will explore Akame Ga Kill zero, with Naruto exploring the Empire during that time._

 _And I know I'm going to get some flak for Esdeath's attitude sometimes, she is kind of a hard character to write, so I just interpreted her as best I could. Or I'll get Flak for the Anbu thing with Esdeath. Remember, this takes place at least three years before Akame Cannon, Esdeath is younger than then, I just imagine that she is still strong, but not as strong as she will be during that time._

 _Trust me, I KNOW how strong she is, but she is younger here._

 _I never figured out where in the Akame timeline Esdeath gained her Teigu, I even tried exploring Zero's timeline, and still came up empty, so I just had it that she already had gained her Teigu here._

 _Been thinking of making another Naruto/DXD Story, with a third crossover with The World God Only Knows._

 _So, even the mighty Esdeath herself falls prey to the all-powerful Mega-Watt-Grin of Uzumaki Naruto, the Knuckleheaded and Dense Shinobi of Konoha._

 _Although, I don't think that even his legendary denseness will be a match for Esdeath's rather obvious advances._

 _Tell me how you feel about this story so far!_

 _Was it a good first chapter?_

 _Was it terrible?_

 _Will I ever get good at writing fight scenes?_

 _All these questions (Except that last one) will be answered!_

 _Thanks for at least trying my story, and I will appreciate Constructive Criticism._

 _I have finals this week, so if I die of mental stress I will leave this story up for grabs in my will…_

 _PSYKE! BURY ME WITH ALL MY SHIT!  
This is TheWackness135, signing off_

 **OMAKE: IMPULSE ISSUES…:**

 _Uzumaki Naruto was ecstatic over his victory against Neji, still cheering and basking in the crowds praise._

 _In his merriment, He failed to notice the Blue-Haired stranger jump from the Kage Box and land on the Chunin Exam floor, making her way towards him._

 _He then heard footsteps approaching him, and turned, expecting to see his sensei, or Sakura-chan._

 _*CLINK*_

 _Not a collar connected to a chain clinking around his neck, with a beautiful woman with Blue hair kneeling down, holding the chain in her hand._

" _From now on, you'll belong to me, and me only."  
He watched her visibly shudder, her face red._

 _Shocked silence…_

 _Until a certain Super Pervert yelled in approval._

" _YEEEEEESSSSS! THAT'S MY STUDENT! I KNEW I CHOSE HIM FOR A REASON!"_

 _Many people had various reactions other than that._

 _Hiruzen was watching with a raised eyebrow, silent, and wondering if he should call her out for Pedophilia._

 _Kakashi just gave a lazy thumbs up, before observing that both the boy and his father had attracted woman who loved chains to them._

 _A certain purple-haired Snake Summoner gave a wolf-whistle, canines glinting._

" _Kinky."_

 _Naruto on the other hand, had a confused look._

 _He wasn't sure whether to curse his luck, or to praise it._

 **OMAKE END.**


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